Shoe insole construction



July 15, 1947. .1. H. M CAHAN- SHOE INSOLE CONSTRUCTION Filed Oct. 18, 1945 mvpzvrox John 11 214" Lahan A TTORNEYB Patented July 15, 1947 an a.

SHQET'. INSOLE CON'SEI RUGT-IQN J olin' H. McCa'han, Canton; .Ohio;

Applioationzojctolierrm, 1945; vSeriafLNo: 623N435- 4 Claims. (Cl. 36-T-'7 1?) I Thee invention; relates: generally; to. corrective insolesz ta-beewom .illishOGsgOI-H slipperssfor reliev lng; foot; a'ilments. and ion, maintaining. the' foot in a; natural: and. healthy condition. 1 Moreparticularlyg, theeinvention. relateseto an iinsole hav- 5;.

inggaasoft pad or padssshapedand. located:topro test: and: relieve thezzmain hearing" points of; the foot, so as: to minimize-7 rubbing; and sliding? on those-a points during; walking, and. at; the= same time": maintain. aindipromote; normal functioning. 10..

Brion insole.- constructionse have included pads f 01 elevating -the-;:joints. at L the heads of: some or. all of. the :metatarsais; but I .have-foundthateuch pads tend-to :accentuate the: rubbingson irritation. 5

theihody weightistransmittedltothispoint; Na 5;.

e; has; provided. twov small: rounded; sesamoid: bones; attached to. the. bottoms of the.head2of'the first metatarsal. just. behind. its. phalangali joint, i, and. these' bones. act; somewhat as ball. bearings astheioot.flexes-duringjwalliing;

Ifhaive: found? that, a. pad which elevates the insoleadirectly under. any of? the: metatarsal j oints tends to accentuate the" pressure at that point during'waikirrg, and to increase"; the .friction betweezr. shoe" sole and; the. bursa or tissue" under" 3'5 v said. joints. Moreover; such an elevated pad tends; Ilo'elieve'; to" throw" some" of i the weight to one? side: and placeunduestress" on the weaker bones; resulting-inthe' formation of callouses at" the joints thereof.

It is a= general" object of the-present invention to-provide= a noveland -improved insole construction which is adapted to protect and-pocketthe sesamoids so as*tore1ieve -friction* and rubbing orr-the-foot' at that-point;

Another object isto provi'dean-insole havinga pad for" protecting and surrounding the sesa' molds-Orr thafii'st metatarsal, and another-pad" for "protecting" the pha'langa'l joint atthe-head of thefifthmetatarsal:

A further-objectiato provid'eanoveland im proved; insole which. has one' or" more pads lo catedi'. at' or near. the phaiangal' joints of one or more" metatarsals insuch' a: way as to' minimize friction between the shoe sole and thefoot at thoseppints:

Another" object is to' provide a novel insole" which is so constructed andarranged asto minimizefrictionontli'e baillofflle,foot'during'walk ing, by causing the sliding" of the foot during flexing. to. occur." mainly; between; the insole and theishoea sole at or under.- the phalangal+meta;-.

tarsal j ,oi-nts:

A.-.s till,furthersobject is to provide-a novel and improved. insole. which: has a: pad. shaped. and;

positioned ;to pocket the sesamoidbones, and, at

the. same time acting to maintain the foot-in properposi-tion,duringwalking.

Finally; it is an. object of the.=pres.ent inveriti0ll't0' -pr0Vide:a noveland improved sho ,insole.- construction.- which overcomestthe disadvantages. v of prior'constructions, and which is inexpensive.

to. construct .1 and easy; to ,install and use.

These and, other objects. are, accomplished by.

theparts, .construetionsrarrangements;. andQcome binationsri comprising; the present. invention, a.

preferred embodiment .of which is. shown by way.

of. example: in. the. accompanying. drawing and. hereinafter. setforth. in. the. specification and,

claims.

Ins general terms, thesinvention.v may be. set forth assincluding an. insole ofv athinpieceof leather; and. the,like. closely. conforming.- to the,

outline. of theheeLand 1 arch portion of, the shoe sole, and terminating ator, near, the. region of.

the phalangal-metatarsal joints, the-frontedge.

off said: insole.- being skived. to, gradually slope downwardly totheshoe 501e surface, acrescente shaped; softrub-ben-padbeing located on .the..in.-.-

sole; behind; and partially around the region; be..- low the sesamoids; andasemi-crescent pad. be-.-

ing located. on the. insole. behind. and under. the 4 phalang-al' joint at the. headi ofthe fifth. metatarsal;

Ref erringi to i the drawing, in .i which aipreferredl. embodimenti-ofrthe inventionis shownby Way) of example;

Figure; 1; is.- aeplan view, looking. at. the. upper.

suriacezofithe improvedinsole;

Fig; 2 is a side elevation thereofg.

Fig.v 3 isan. enlarged fragmentary.- cross sectionalview as .on line 3-.-3 Fig: l

Fig.3 4. is; a: plan. View. similar toEigH 1,,with the: outline-ofa.- foot superposed onithe insole.

to:- showi the relative location of.v the pads... and;

the joints of the foot;

'Ei5.;.5,v is.- aT-side view of afootsupported on .an

insole: embodying; theeinvention. and. inserted. in. a:- shoe;, partsflof. the-- shoe being; broken away and-insection; .and

Big. 6% is? a;-,simi1azr:" v-iew'=' showing-1v thefoot. and

like 8 which is -cutt'o-have'an' outline substane many: conforming with: thev outline of the shoe sole onwhich th'e I insole-"1 is to be worn.- Thus;

the leather 8 may have a heel portion 9, an arch portion I and a front portion II.

The front portion ll of the insole l is preferably cut alonga reverse curve l2 so as to terminate under the region of the phalangal-meta tarsal joints of the foot for which the insole is,

designed. Referring to Fig. 4, it is seen that the curved edge I 2 passes substantially under the phalangal-metatarsal joints of the second, third,

and fourth metatarsal bones I3, i4 and I5 respectively, and under the rear end of'the first proximal phalange H5 in front of its joint with the first metatarsal l1, and under the fifth proximal phalange l8 which i joined to the fifth metatarsal I9.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the front curved edge I2 of the front portion l of the insole is skived or gradually tapered as indicated at 20 so as to gradually merge with the uppersurface of the shoe sole on which the insole 1 is positioned. The heel portion 9 is provided with means for adhesively attaching the insole tothe shoe sole, and as shown such means may comprise the adhesive rubber sheet 2| onthe underside of the heel portion 9, which may be in the'nature of a vulcanizing patch for repairing an inner tube for a rubber tire.

The improved rubber pad 23 for protecting and pocketing the sesamoid bones22 is preferably of sponge rubber and is of crescent shape as indicated. The pad 23 is preferably adhesively secured to the underside of the inner sole at a location which will be under the first metatarsal and slightly behind the sesamoids of the foot for which the inner sole is designed, as best shown in Fig. 4. The crescent shape of the pad 23 provides for the ends of the crescent to partially surround the sesamoids 22 so as to form a pocket for the same and protect them from receiving undue pressure from the weight of the body during walking,

If the person wearing the improved inner sole walks'normally, that is, substantially straightforwardly, the pad 23 is positioned substantially as shown in Fig. 4 so as to surround the sesamoids an equal amount on both sides. If the person tends to toe inwardly, the pad may be rotated on the insole in a clockwise direction so as to surround the sesamoids on the inner side of the foot to a greater extent and thus cause the foot to turn slightly outwardly in walking. On the other hand, if the person tends to toe outwardly, the pad is rotated in a counter-clockwise direction so as to tend to turn the toes slightly inwardly in walking.

In order to offset any tendency of the foot to shift the body weight toward the outside of the foot because of the crescent pad 23, I prefer to provide a semi-crescent pad 24 on the underside of the insole along its outer edge. The pad 24 is preferably of sponge rubber and-constructed similarly to the pad 23, although it may be slightly thinner. The pad 24 is located so as to be under the fifth metatarsal just behind its joint with the fifth proximal phalange I8, and the semicrescent shape tends to pocket said point and maintain it in proper position during walking. Thus, the semi-crescent pad 24 functions to keep the first metatarsal I! in balance over the crescent pad 23 much the same as an outrigger on a canoe functions to stabilize the canoe.

In constructing an inner sole embodying the invention, the particular foot which is to wear the inner sole is carefully measured, the outline of the foot obtained, and the relative location of the sesamoids 22 on the first metatarsal l1 and of the fifth phalangal-metatarsal joint is accurately ascertained, as well as the general location of all of the phalangal metatarsal joints. The inner sole 1 is then cut to conform to the foot outline and it front edge is cut on a reverse curve l2 to follow substantially the region of the joints. The front edge I2 is then skived as shown at 2!]. The exact location of the sesamoid bones 22 and the fifth metatarsal joint is then plotted on the insole and the pads 23 and 24 located slightly behind these. points a shown in Fig. 4,

In locating the pads 23 and 24, due consideration is given to abnormalities of the particular foot being treated, which may require slight shifting of the pads one way or another. Also, the pad 23 is oriented around the sesamoids in the manner previously described to'correct a'tendency toward toeing inwardly or outwardly.

In the actual operation of the improved insole, the same is secured by means of the adhesive sheet 2! inside the heel of ashoe 25, as indicated in Figs. 5 and 6. The relative 'position of the large toe 26 is shown within the toe 21 of the shoe, as well as the relativeposition of the first metatarsal I! and the sesamoids 22. It will be apparent that as the foot flexes forwardly during walking, from the standing position of Fig. 5 to the position of Fig. 6, the bendin of the shoe sole at the ball portion 2'! thereof causes the upper surface of the sole to contractlongitudinally, while at the same time the bottom portion of the foot at the'same location stretches or ex-,

' ner sole at that point, but that asthe shoe sole is bent at 21 and the bursa of the foot below the sesamoids is convexly curved, that part of themsole ll in front of the pad 23 will expand 1on gitudinally with the bursa so as to cause substantially all of the sliding to occur between the front edge of the insole and the shoe sole. This same sliding action between the front edge of the in-- sole and the shoe sole occurs throughout the width of the marginal edge portion l2 of the insole.

In actual practice, I have observed the underside of the marginal edge portion I2 of numerous insoles embodying the invention which have been worn by various persons, and have noted under surface in every case has become smooth and shiny, showing conclusively that there is sliding action between the front portion of the inner sole and the upper surface of the shoe sole.. ,At the same time, the wearers of the improved insoles have experienced markedrelief from pain, callouses and bunions at or near the ball of the foot, after continuous use of the said insole.

Accordingly, it has been demonstrated. in actual practice that the crescent shaped pad 23 pockets the sesamoids 22 and relieves pressure thereon, and at the same time provides a fulcrum for maintaining the first metatarsal in proper position during walking and minimizes .the friction or rubbing of the shoe sole on the ball of the foot.

The novel and improvedinsole is inexpensive to construct and. is easily designed for use by any particular foot.

In the foregoing description, certain terms have been used for brevity, clearness and understanding; but no unnecessary limitations are to be implied therefrom beyond the requirements of the prior art, because such words are used for descriptive purposes herein and are intended to be broadly construed.

Moreover, the embodiment of the improved construction illustrated and described herein is by Way of example, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to exact details, the constructions comprising the invention, and reasonable mechanical equivalents thereof obvious to those skilled in the art, being set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A shoe insole including a heel portion and a front portion, said front portion having its front edge shaped to lie under the region of the phalangal-metatarsal joints of a foot supported by said insole, means on the heel portion for adhesively attaching it to a shoe sole, and a crescent-shaped pad located on said insole so as to be partially surrounding and spaced behind the region below the sesamoids of the first metatarsal bone of said f ot.

2. A shoe insole including a heel portion and a front portion, said front portion having its front edge shaped to lie under the region of the phalangal-metatarsal joints of a foot supported by said insole, means on the heel portion for adhesively attaching it to a shoe sole, a crescentshaped pad located on said insole in such position to be partially surrounding and slightly behind the region below the sesamoid bones of the first metatarsal of said foot, and a second pad on said insole in position to be under and slightly behind the region below the fifth phalangal metatarsal joint of said foot.

3. A shoe insole having a curved front edge adapted to lie substantially under the heads of the metatarsals of a foot supported bysaid in- Number sole, the marginal front edge portion of said insole being skived to merge with the surface of a shoe sole supporting said insole, and a crescent shaped soft rubber pad on the underside of said insole and located behind and partially surrounding the region below the sesamoids of the first metatarsal of said foot, said shoe sole being adapted to slide relative to .the front marginal portion of said insole as the foot is flexed within said shoe.

4. A shoe insole having a curved front edge adapted to lie substantially under the heads of the metatarsals of a foot supported by said insole, the marginal front edge portion of said insole being skived to merge with the surface of a shoe sole supporting said insole, means on the heel portion of said insole for adhesively securing it to the heel of said shoe sole, a crescent-shaped soft rubber pad on the underside of said insole and located behind and partially surrounding the region be- -low the sesamoids of the first metatarsal of said sole as the foot is flexed within said shoe.

JOHN H. McCAHAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Adair Jan. 18, 1921 Saperson July 10, 1928 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain June 26, 1924 Great Britain Apr. 3, 1935 Great Britain Feb. 16, 1938 Number 

